Addressing Race in America

June 12, 2020

2020 is the year that our country is facing some of its greatest obstacles. COVID-19 has presented multiple challenges in the last few months and remains a focus of our coverage. However, we must bring to the forefront the national call for social justice. On June 8, 2020, Illinois Public Media released the following statement:

'Illinois Public Media stands with the Black Lives Matter movement and all who support it.

We have always been an organization dedicated to public service and building community, but now more than ever, we need to harness the power of public media to deepen our understanding, foster conversation, and encourage meaningful change.

As a start, we are working to offer more programs across all platforms that elevate the work, stories, and experiences of people of color. Additionally, we are committed to producing and presenting even more local and national content that exposes injustice and presents a diverse set of voices and viewpoints.

What we have seen play out in the past couple months is nothing new for our communities of color, especially the Black community; but for so many of us, we are coming to realize our roles in upholding and benefiting from the systematic racism that these injustices represent. We acknowledge that Illinois Public Media hasn’t always been perfect, but we are striving to do better.'

We understand this will be an ongoing effort and one that cannot be done in a vacuum. While we work to create an extensive lifelong learning experience around social justice issues, we wanted to compile a list of materials that speak to this movement and the injustices that led to this moment in America. Below you will find links to programs, documentaries, podcasts, and news reports you can watch, listen to, and read right now.

We hope Illinois Public Media can play a small part in helping the community move forward in this fight.

- Moss Bresnahan, CEO and President of Illinois Public Media

PBS

Race and Racism in America: Watch a collection of films and specials that highlight and add context to the many aspects of race and racism in our country.

NPR

CODE SWITCH: Hear fearless conversations about race hosted by journalists of color. This podcast tackles the subject of race head-on, exploring how it impacts every part of society — from politics and pop culture to history, sports and everything in between.